Love's First Kiss
by vampyremiyu
Summary: Conan worries about Ran while she's out on a date. Will her first kiss be stolen without him there to protect her? A cute little one shot. Conan/Ran.


LOVE'S FIRST KISS  
A Detective Conan/Case Closed challenge fic

Written by Miyu, Vampire Princess

CHALLENGE(S): Age isn't everything, write a pairing where the participants are at least 6 years apart AND First kiss, describe the initial moment of attraction and a couple's first kiss.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Written for a 2006 challenge (yeah, this is kinda old)... Why do I always have issues with the age thing? In most of my favorite fandoms, it happens all the time! GAH! But this one gave me heartburn and I hope that the chosen pair isn't too cheesy. A Standard Disclaimer appears at the end of the piece. Thanks for reading!

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She was late.

Conan Edogawa paced in front of the main door. The clock struck quarter past the hour. He paused only a moment to look at the front door longingly. His heart plummeted into his stomach when a minute passed and the door didn't open.

'She promised to be home by now,' he told himself, pacing again.

It wasn't like her to break her promises. Ran Morii prided herself on being an honest person. She was a honor student, a volunteer at the local children's shelter, a teacher at a martial arts dojo, and the daughter of one of the most famous detectives in the city. She always called when she was going to be late. Always kept her word no matter what.

So why wasn't she walking through the front door?!

Conan blamed her date. Chad something or other. He was the same age as Ran. A classmate at the community college she began attending a few months ago. Long blonde hair, layered shirts and torn jeans seemed to be his trademark. To Ran, he seemed like a sweet, caring young man. They had a few things in common; he was a real outgoing sort.

But Ran didn't understand the workings of a young man's mind.

Conan chocked off a bitter laugh. Oh yes, he knew exactly what Chad was thinking. Pretty girl, single...he wanted one thing and one thing only. He saw it the first time she brought him over to introduce him to her father. Apparently, Detective Morii wasn't impressed either. Conan deduced that he saw it too. Finally, one case he didn't have to assist the good detective in solving.

Yet, despite his warnings, Ran went out with him anyway.

Dinner and a movie.

"A short movie I hope," Conan muttered to himself as he stopped pacing and threw himself into a nearby chair. 'That should be me out there with her,' he thought with a heavy sigh. "Like it would ever happen. Not with me trapped in this body. They'd mistake me for her son rather than her boyfriend.'

It would be difficult to explain to people why a nine year old was dating a college student.

And it would look plain weird, even to Conan.

Of course, Conan only looked nine years old. Inside was the mind of a young genius. A nineteen-year-old genius! But Shinichi Kudo's up and coming career as a famous mystery detective was cut short when he got caught up in a botched robbery. Forced to swallow a non-descript medication, Shinichi's dreams shrank when he awoke. And so did his body!

Two years with only a few leads and fewer answers. Conan wished that for one night and one night only he could return to his former self. It'd happened before. Always at the wrong time, too. But at least then he could take her dinner and a movie...and reassure Ran that everything was going to be all right.

And he could ask her to wait for him.

Not that she'd wait forever, he reasoned. And a smaller voice in his mind agreed. His disappearance left her hurt and angry. Even right under her nose, Conan could never admit that he was really Shinichi. The people that transformed him were bad, evil. He would never place her in harm's way. Never risk losing the one person on this Earth that he loved the most.

But he was in danger of just that.

The clock stuck half past the hour and Conan began pacing again. 'She's late,' he chanted over and over in his mind. It was little in the way of a distraction, though. His hands shook and he clutched at them in a manner unlike his usual self. Kicking a soccer ball was out of the question, since he broke a vase last week. With nothing else to keep him occupied, he walked faster, holding his hands behind his back.

Then there was a soft click, and the door opened.

Ran Morii sighed as she stepped inside the apartment and closed the door thankfully behind her. The night had been a disaster. One incident after another she found herself cursing Chad for his male chauvinistic tendencies. And herself for not taking the advice of a friend.

"Ran?"

She shouldn't have been surprised to see Conan wondering around in the darkness. A small lamp clicked on and she had to blink for her eyes to adjust. The young man was dressed for bed in his favorite pajamas. His glasses were crooked as she entered the room. She watched as he adjusted them, wiping one tired with the back of his hand.

"Ran?" Conan's voice was laced with worry. "Is everything all right? He didn't do anything...funny...did he?"

Ran placed her shawl over the chair and regarded the young boy closely. 'What are you doing awake, Conan,' was the first thing to come to mind. But she quickly disregarded the thought. 'Of course, he'd be awake,' she reminded herself. 'He was against this date from the start.'

Kicking off her shoes, she asked, "Were you worried about me, Conan?"

The boy blushed a deep shade of red. He'd never admit his feelings. If he did, how would he explain? And what if she didn't return his feelings? He nearly choked on his own spit, his clever mind finding nothing clever to say in response. So he simply nodded.

Ran giggled, knowing that her jib embarrassed the young boy. She thought it was cute how Conan worried about her. 'If only he were older,' she thought, and not for the first time. She pictured Conan as a handsome young man one day. Just like someone else she knew. Someone she longed for. Someone she wished would return quickly.

'Shinichi, I miss you.'

But Conan was a great substitute in his absence.

'Gah! What the hell am I thinking?! I'm a hopeless romantic, but not hopelessly desperate. Yet. Besides...he may not be so far away. Shinichi...'

"Ran?" When she looked up again, Conan was fidgeting with his bowtie. A nervous gesture? That didn't seem right to her. And when he looked up at her, his eyes showed caring, love and fear. Honest emotions she'd never seen from him, or anyone else. "Did he...kiss you?"

She blinked a few times. What did he just ask...? "No." She shook her head with a smile. 'Not for his lack of trying,' she quipped to herself. 'At least he kept his hands to himself after I slapped him.'

Then she sighed. Conan had been right all along. He was a jerk. "No. I'm saving my first kiss for someone very special."

"Oh." A small smile spread across his lips, then slowly disappeared. "That's...good." He nodded as if to reassure himself. "Good."

Conan sighed in relief, but he couldn't help but continue to be nervous. Someone special? Was she in love with someone else? Had she forgotten about Shinichi? About him?

Ran kneeled before Conan. He still appeared fearful, but she didn't know why. Her heart went out to him. "Were you really so worried?"

Eyes downcast and his blush deepening, he nodded.

Smiling, she cupped his small cheeks in her hands and forced him to look at her. Those dark eyes, just like Shinichi's. Closing her eyes, she leaned forward. Gently, her lips brushed against his before pressing them tightly together. As soon as it began it ended, and Ran pulled away, a bigger smile playing on her lips.

"Now you won't have to worry," she said, standing. "Thank you, Conan. For caring about me."

Conan was still in shock as she walked away. Heart racing and sweat forming on his skin, he grinned like an idiot. She kissed him. Kissed HIM! Her first kiss. His first kiss. Their first kiss. He felt his heart melt, like it always did whenever he was close to her. A nosebleed usually followed, but he was grateful that his nose refrained from causing him further embarrassment.

Still grinning from ear to ear, he followed Ran back the hallway and stopped just shy of his room. A small speck of light shown under the doorway in Ran's room. Perhaps he should talk to her. Tell her the truth. The happy smile faded once more. No. Although it would make him happy, ease a great deal of pain, he couldn't do it. He would simply have to be happy knowing that she was still close to him.

And he had love's first kiss to keep him company when she wasn't.

'Take that, Chad,' he thought as he closed his bedroom door behind him.

--OWARI--

DISCLAIMER:  
I do not own any part of "Detective Conan" or "Case Closed". That prestige honor goes to creator Gosho Aoyama. The characters in this story are used without permission. No money is being made from the production of this story, so it is pointless to sue. Well, perhaps not so much pointless as unprofitable.


End file.
